Reducing disparities in health care one community at a time.

• Position: Statestats

The nation's 1,000 community health centers are outperforming the rest of the health care system by reaching and improving the health of a more diverse group of people. Of the nearly 12.4 million health center patients annually, about two-thirds are members of racial and ethnic minorities.

Health centers were associated with "significant and positive reductions in minority health disparities" in such areas as infant mortality, prenatal care, tuberculosis case rates and death rates, according to a 2003 Georgetown University study. Health centers resulted in more mammography screenings, lower hypertension levels, narrowing death rate gap between blacks and whites, and fewer low birth weight babies.

Because of these impressive gains, the Institute of Medicine and the General Accounting Office have recognized health centers as models of care for screening, diagnosing, and managing chronic conditions such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, asthma, depression, cancer and HIV.

MAMMOGRAPHY SCREENING

African American and Hispanic females who visit health centers receive more mammography screenings than do other females throughout the nation whose incomes are 200 percent below the federal poverty level.

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HEALTH CENTER PATIENTS BY RACE/ETHNICITY, 2004 African American 24.1% American Indian/Alaska Native 1.1% Hispanic/Latino 35.4% Asian/Pacific Islander 3.3% White 36.2% Note: Table made from pie chart. Source: NAtional Association of Community Health Centers. DECREASING THE RATE OF LOW BIRTH WEIGHT BABIES

African American women who receive prenatal care in health centers fare better than those outside the health care system. While 13 percent of African American women deliver low birth weight babies nationally, the...